A new contest record
678.8000
highest overall ever cooked here
678.8000 is the highest overall score this contest has ever produced — past the 678.2972 DANTE'S INFERNO set in 2015.
- old record 678.2972
- set 2015 by DANTE'S INFERNO
Que for the Troops 2016
Jun 3–4, 2016 · Levittown, PA · 📍 3125 Millcreek
CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ won Grand Champion at the Que for the Troops on June 3, 2016 in Levittown, PA at 3125 Millcreek, scoring 678.8000 in a field of 67 teams. HAWG NATION BBQ took Reserve Grand Champion with 670.2968. Category winners: Chicken — SMOKIN FOOLZ (173.1544); Pork Ribs — DEAD ON Q (175.4288); Pork — EASTERN BEAST BBQ TEAM (170.8572); Brisket — CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ (177.1772). This is the 4th of 6 editions of this contest on record; the 2015 edition was won by DANTE'S INFERNO; the next was held in 2017.
The contest at a glance (read off the scored boards)
How the field scored
Overall totals, every team on the board — tall stacks are where the pack sat.
551.98
median 633.75
678.80 🏆
How the meats cooked
Every board on one scale — the bar runs last score to first, the dot is the median.
- Chicken 173.15
- Pork Ribs 175.43
- Pork 170.86
- Brisket 177.18
110.23
177.18
Winning score by edition
What it has taken to win here, 2013 to 2018 — this edition picked out.
Entries
67
4 judged meats · 2 ancillary
Top score
678.8000
Winning margin
8.5032
GC over RC
Field average
633.24
551.98678.80
median 633.75 · last place to winner
Perfect 180s
0
Tightest race
Chicken
2.8688 pts across the top 5
Top-10 cutoff
658.1712
551.98678.80
10th place overall
Field spread
126.8228
winner to last place
Double threats
3
teams with 2+ top-5 calls
How hot was the win?
Top 91%
beats 9% of 4715 Master Series wins in the data
Came back for more
59%
32 of 54 teams from the previous edition returned
Form held
Strong
ρ = -0.66 between pre-contest rating and finish
Field strength
1,533
avg power rating going in · stronger than 24% of contests
Storylines (6 found in this contest's numbers)
Everything below is read straight out of the results — the number on each card is the one that made it a story.
Photo finishes
Tie
closest of 11 calls decided inside half a point
Chicken places 3–4: THE BBQ GURU and RIBS WITHIN tied on 172.5600 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Chicken places 7–8: BASS RIVER BBQ and DANTE'S INFERNO tied on 169.6800 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker. Pork Ribs places 8–9: CRAIGIE MACK'S BBQ SHACK and NICE RACKS tied on 167.4400 — settled by the KCBS tiebreaker.
- Chicken 3–4 · tie
- Chicken 7–8 · tie
- Pork Ribs 8–9 · tie
- Brisket 7–8 · tie
How the title was won
3 of 4
meats called to the stage
CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ took the title on 3 calls from 4 meats, with 1 outright win — their weakest board was chicken at 19th.
- Chicken 19th
- Pork Ribs 3rd
- Pork 6th
- Brisket 1st
Back to defend
2
past champions back in the field
Past winners of this contest cooked this edition: WILBUR'S REVENGE (won 2013), DANTE'S INFERNO (won 2015).
- WILBUR'S REVENGE · 2013
- DANTE'S INFERNO · 2015
One of the big ones
67
teams on the grounds
Bigger than 94% of the 5,469 contests in the data
67 teams — bigger than 94% of the 5,469 contests in the data.
The biggest field yet
67
teams — a contest high
This contest usually draws about 55 teams
67 teams is the deepest field this contest has drawn in the data, against a typical 55.
Score curves (score by finishing position — steep cliffs mean a spread field, flat lines a knife fight)
Category showdown (top / average / median score per meat)
Score distribution
Biggest rating movers (power-rating points won and lost at this contest)
Did form hold? (pre-contest rating vs overall finish — ratings called it if the dots climb to the right)
This contest over the years full contest page →
| Date | Where | Venue | Teams | High score | Grand Champion | Reserve Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 2013 | Levittown, PA | Levittown, PA | 46 | 658.2858 | WILBUR'S REVENGE | FIRE & SPICE |
| Jun 6, 2014 | Levittown, PA | Levittown, PA | 65 | 665.0968 | SMOKIN HOGGZ BBQ - MA | STUBBORN BULL BBQ |
| Jun 5, 2015 | Levittown, PA | Levittown, PA 19030 | 54 | 678.2972 | DANTE'S INFERNO | CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ |
| Jun 3, 2016 ← this one | Levittown, PA | 3125 Millcreek | 67 | 678.8000 | CHECKERED FLAG 500 BBQ | HAWG NATION BBQ |
| Jun 2, 2017 | Levittown, PA | 9125 Millcreek RD | 63 | 684.4800 | LO' -N- SLO' BBQ | SMOKEN DUDES BBQ |
| Jun 1, 2018 | Levittown, PA | 9125 Millcreek RD | 61 | 681.7028 | UNCLE PIG'S BARBEQUE PIT | OLD VIRGINIA SMOKE |
What a call cost (the score it took to finish 1st, 5th and 10th)
| Category | 1st | 5th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 173.1544 | 170.2856 | 168 |
| Pork Ribs | 175.4288 | 168.0344 | 167.4172 |
| Pork | 170.8572 | 166.2628 | 163.4628 |
| Brisket | 177.1772 | 172.5484 | 169.1544 |
Official results on kcbs.us ↗
Master Series
Overall
67 entries · top 678.8000 · median 633.7484
Chicken
67 entries · top 173.1544 · median 162.2284
Pork Ribs
67 entries · top 175.4288 · median 160.5944
Pork
67 entries · top 170.8572 · median 158.2400
Brisket
67 entries · top 177.1772 · median 157.0972
Ancillary categories
Run by the organizers alongside the sanctioned contest. These are judged on their own terms and do not count toward the overall score, so they're kept out of the meat stats above.
Master Series — Anything Butt
32 entries · top 170.8800 · median 155.4284
Master Series — Dessert
31 entries · top 176.6172 · median 161.1084